Sword Art Online: Fallen Angels
by Insert New Name Here
Summary: We are the Fallen Angels. We have fallen from the glory days of being regular beta-testers, and we now stand strong as the angels of the death game that trapped ten-thousand lives. We are the best of the best, and we have sworn to free everyone else, even if it costs us everything. We are the Fallen Angels, led by the strongest player: the Archangel, Kirito. (OC-centric, Kirito/OC)
1. Chapter 1: The Promise

Sword Art Online: Fallen Angels

Chapter One: The Promise

* * *

**A/N:**

**Okay, here's another new story for you! This one is kind of like The Shadow of the Starless Night in terms of game mechanics, meaning that you can use literally and weapon build, and they all have skills attached. At the same time, there are no stat modifiers to any of the builds (for example, Dual-Wielding will no longer have an attack speed bonus), nor are there any extra skills involving weapons, since you can already use any weapon choice anyway.**

**Also, this story is kinda old, so please forgive any crappiness in the first 4k words. It was a little too much to rewrite all of it, so I just continued from where I left off.**

**Well, that's enough out of me!**

**Have a good read, and I'll see ya at the bottom!**

* * *

"_Wow, the beta is almost over, isn't it?"_

"_Yeah… just a few more days…"_

"_Hey, let's preorder copies with our beta privileges and meet again!"_

_I looked at the boy before me, eyes widened in shock. Did he really want to meet up with me again? I was just another online friend, so why should he care? Even worse, I had a horrible personality! I was a total ass! Why did he want to be around me?_

"_C'mon, it'll be fun!"_

_He must have taken my self-doubting for reluctance. I have to correct him. "Y-yeah, of course!" I shouted, sounding like a nervous wreck. "I'd love to!"_

_He looked down, donning a sad expression. "You know, you don't have to force yourself," he whispered._

"_N-no, you've got it wrong!" I fervently denied, waving my hands from side to side frantically. "That's not it! It's just… why do you want to see me again? I'm just a person you met online…"_

"_Isn't it obvious?" he replied, giving me a small smile. "It's because you're my friend! Maybe even my best friend!"_

_My eyes widened once more, and tears started to gather in the corners of my eyes. "Thanks, Kirito…"_

"_No problem, Yamiko," Kirito responded cheerily. "So, what do you say? Want to meet up in the official game?"_

"_Yeah!"_

* * *

I awoke to the sound of a phone ringing right next to my ear. I groggily pulled my left arm up to my face, finding and pressing a button on my special watch. It instantly sent a signal to my ear buds, which had been plugged into said watch. The signal transformed into a string of syllables, informing me of the time.

_7:30 AM_

_Who the hell could be calling me this early?_ I thought, putting my head back down. _Oh well, I'll just ignore it until it stops ringing. Then I can get back to sleep._

However, just a few seconds after the phone stopped ringing, it started up again. I waited it out once more, and lo and behold, it started to ring again a few seconds later. At this point, I knew exactly who it was. This person would never stop until she got an answer.

I fumbled around for my phone, not even bothering to open my eyes to look.

_After all, what's the point of opening your eyes to look for something if you can't see?_

Yes, I was blind. Yes, I had a watch with a headphone or ear bud jack. But no, none of that stopped me from having fun. After all, who needs to see in the real world when you can see in the virtual world?

Yes, that's right. The «Nerve Gear», invented by the super genius known as Kayaba Akihiko, had the ability to go past my blindness and tap into my mind's eye. I discovered this when I won a drawing by mistake a few months ago. One that got me the «Nerve Gear», but not just that. There was one other thing that I got out of the drawing.

A beta copy of the highly-anticipated first ever Virtual Reality MMORPG, or VRMMO for short.

«Sword Art Online».

At first, I was skeptical. There was no way a simple helmet could let me see things, even if they were virtual, right? It just wasn't possible, I remember thinking to myself. However, with a lot of convincing from my brother and parents, I put it on my head, loaded the beta copy of SAO, and…

I was hooked.

I couldn't believe it. I could actually see when I was inside the game! Thus, I started playing it all the time. I played it whenever I got the chance, and since I was homeschooled, combined with my being a very quick learner, I had a _lot_ of chances.

I played solo for the first couple of weeks, choosing never to join a party with anyone, no matter how hard the quest or mini-boss raid. Needless to say, I died at least a hundred times during the first week, since all I did was fight, fight, and fight some more. After all, fighting with your body _and_ being able to see was an incredibly addicting thing to do for someone who had been blind all her life.

Due to the amazing amount of weapon combinations a player could choose, I experimented for quite a while. Of course, because I happened to be ambidextrous, I settled on the incredibly hard-to-master two sword style, also known as «Dual-Wielding». I never could understand why it was so hard for other players to master, as it just came naturally for me. But I digress.

After the first month had gone by, I decided to focus on floor-clearing like the majority of the thousand beta players. Due to my talent in my build, combined with my knowledge of the game's mechanics, I quickly became one of the lead players. At one point, I even had the highest level, putting me at level thirty. Of course, all good things must come to an end. One day, as I was grinding on the sixth floor, I decided to check the player rankings by level. What I found shocked me to my very core.

There was someone a level above me. His name?

Kirito.

And so, I resolved to find this 'Kirito' person, determined to test his strength. Of course, I didn't neglect to grind on my way, just so that I could be of an even or higher level when I met them. I eventually found the player known as 'Kirito', and so I did what was natural. I challenged him to a duel.

When he accepted, I was surprised to find that he, like myself, used two one-handed longswords. I thought that there were no players amongst the clearers that used that weapon combo. This led to me underestimating his skill, which ultimately led to me getting my ass handed to me on a silver platter.

This boy completely outclassed me in skill and power, despite me having one level on him at the time. In the duel, he looked so calm, as if he had been using the two sword style for years. He seemed to predict all of my attacks perfectly, before I even knew _how_ I was going to attack. It was like he had a countermeasure for everything I did. It aggravated me to no end, and so I challenged him again. The results?

Another loss.

After the second loss, he walked up to me, then told me that I fought amazingly well. He offered to help me get better, and I begrudgingly accepted. In retrospect, his offer was probably just a roundabout way of him asking to be my friend.

So, we trained on the front lines, always in a party together. Through the whole ordeal, we became very close, even to the point of sleeping in the same bed until sleep logged us both out. But of course, as I said before…

All good things come to an end.

With only a week left in the beta, we both grew sad knowing that we wouldn't see each other anymore. We resolved to get to the eighth floor before the beta ended, and decided to face the seventh floor boss together, just the two of us, as a reminder of our unbreakable friendship. Needless to say, we succeeded.

After making it to the eighth floor, there were only three days left before the beta would close. We walked on, hearts heavy, until Kirito stumbled upon an idea.

"_Hey, let's preorder copies with our beta privileges and meet again!"_

Up until that point, I hadn't even known that beta-testers had that privilege. Of course, I was reluctant. Still, he won me over very quickly, and so we promised to meet again in the official launch.

Now, where was I? Oh, right.

After a few seconds of feeling around, I finally found my phone just as it was about to fall off the bed.

_That was close!_ I thought, sighing in relief as I opened my flip-phone.

"What's up, Suguha?" I drawled into my phone. "Why are you calling me this early?"

"Well, I was hoping I could come over to your place after kendo practice. As for why I called so early, I figured you'd be in the virtual world by the time I was done with practice."

Suguha said that last part with some degree of irritation, and I perfectly understood the reason why.

_That brother of hers… he completely ignored her for the sake of gaming. At least I have half a reason for playing these games!_

I replied with, "Sure thing. Come by around seven o'clock and I'll be out of SAO, okay? I just have to try to meet someone in there."

"Really? Who?" was her immediate response. "Is it a boy?"

_Oh, god… not again!_

"Just a friend from the beta test. But before you say anything," I warned, "I do _not_ like him like that."

"Oh, okay," she replied, and I could sense the disappointment in her tone. "Well, I'll see ya at seven!"

Without even giving me a chance to reply, she hung up.

Several hours later, after I finished my daily lessons, I checked the time with my special watch.

_12:50_

"Excuse me, ma'am?" I asked my tutor as she started to walk away. "Could you—"

"You don't even need to ask," my tutor said in a warm voice. "SAO's official launch date is today, right? You only have about ten minutes, so why don't we get you to your room and get you ready."

"Thank you, ma'am," I replied, smiling a small smile.

"No problem!"

Five minutes later, we had successfully maneuvered my family's large estate and found my room. My tutor began loading the official SAO software onto the «Nerve Gear», and I sat down on the bed. I then laid down, getting under the covers for warmth. Soon enough, I heard the sound of the «Nerve Gear» finishing up loading the SAO software.

My tutor slid the «Nerve Gear» onto my head, and then she said, "You've got about a minute left. Do you want me to count down?"

"Sure. Thank you for all the help, ma'am."

"All right. And…" she started, waiting for a moment before continuing. "Fifty-nine, fifty-eight, fifty-seven…"

_This is it… I'm finally going to meet him again…_

"Thirty-one, thirty, twenty-nine, twenty-eight, twenty-seven…"

I smiled at the prospect of meeting my best friend again for the first time in months.

_I hope you can wait for me, Kirito…_

"Three, two, one—"

I immediately cut her off with the words I had been dying to say for so long.

"Link start!"

Suddenly, my vision turned white, a stark contrast with the black void I always saw in the real world. Lines of all colors streaked across my field of vision until they were all behind me. Then, circles with the English words for the five senses came up into my field of vision one by one, confirming that I could use the senses in the game. The sight icon lingered for a little while, having to dig just a little deeper to find my true sense of sight. Once they were all finished confirming, they scrolled off the screen, and a language bar appeared.

I confirmed the play language as Japanese, and a login screen appeared. I mentally entered my username and password.

* * *

_Character Creation_

_Your beta test data is still available._

_Would you like to use it?_

_Yamiko (F)_

_Yes/No_

* * *

I mentally touched the yes button, and then then a gray screen appeared with the English words, "Welcome to Sword Art Online!" in the middle. My vision moved past this screen, and pillars of blue light that formed a tunnel made their way past my field of vision. Then, the blue light turned into polygons that scattered, revealing the "sky" of the first floor.

I looked down, finding myself in the «Plaza» of the first city in the game, the «Town of Beginnings».

I clenched my hands into fists, watching the muscles in my wrist tense.

_Yeah… I'm here…_

"I'm back!" I whispered gleefully. "Now, let's go to our meeting place!"

I ran through the streets, going past all of the people with frightful speed. I couldn't wait to meet up with Kirito once more, to fight alongside him again, just the two of us. Of course, when I actually arrived at our designated meeting place, all of my visions were shattered.

There in the alley stood Kirito, talking to some tall, red-headed teen.

_What the hell was I expecting…?_ I thought, mentally beating on myself. _I was just another online friend. He can easily replace me with another friend._

Despite my sorrow, I found myself instinctually walking up to the pair. Kirito was the first to notice me, and as soon as he did, he gave me a look that asked me, 'what's wrong?' I quickly realized my mistake, then corrected it by putting on a smile.

The other teen turned around to face me. He seemed to be scared of me, but maybe that was just my imagination. When I reached them, I looked up at the sky, smiling wistfully. "Amazing, isn't it? You know, the way they can recreate everything perfectly like this. Right down to the texture of all the items."

"Whoa, since when did you turn into the philosophical type?" Kirito asked me, his avatar donning a smirk.

"S-shut up, man!" I retorted before looking at the red-headed teen. "Anyway, don't mind his crazy comments. What's your name?"

The teen stayed silent for a second, as if he was lagging. Then, all of the sudden—

"H-hello! My name is Klein! I'm single, what about— OOF!"

I barely had time to register what this Klein person had said before Kirito moved in front of me and… punched him in the gut.

"Kirito, what the hell?!" I shouted. "What did you do that for?"

"S-sorry…" Kirito said sheepishly. "Instinct."

I walked around Kirito, helping Klein up. "Sorry about him," I said, flashing an apologetic smile. "He gets a little overprotective sometimes."

"I do _not_!" Kirito denied, shaking his head feverishly.

"Then how do you explain what you just did?" I said, smirking like a madman.

He stayed silent, hanging his head in defeat. I put my right hand on his shoulder, my smirk fading. "Don't worry, I was just messing around."

He looked into my eyes, and I looked into his. We shared a meaningful glance, but before either of us could say anything, I heard the sound of someone clearing their throat.

"So wait, are you two siblings or something?" Klein asked us, scratching his cheek.

"Nah, we're just good friends from a while back who promised to meet up with each other here. I could see how you would think we are, though," I said, giggling lightly afterwards.

"Oh, I see," Klein responded, giving us a knowing smile. "I think I see what's going on here… you two are a—"

Before he could continue, I quickly interjected with, "_Don't_ say it!"

This time, Kirito was the one to clear his throat. "Anyway, what were you saying earlier, Klein?"

"Oh yeah!" Klein said, looking as if he recalled something really important. "Do you think you guys could show me the ropes? After all, I can tell that _both_ of you were beta-testers."

I grit my teeth at being called a 'guy', but didn't say anything. Kirito accepted, and off we went.

* * *

«West Field»

"AAH!"

Klein yelled out a cry of pain as the «Frenzy Boar» attacked him, sending him flying back onto his posterior.

I giggled briefly, then said, "Congratulations! You were defeated by a _pig_."

"Hey, screw you! That's like the pig from hell!" Klein shouted, eliciting another giggle from me.

"Could you at least _try_ to be constructive?" Kirito asked me, though I could sense his amusement.

"Nope."

Kirito gave me a hard look, and after a good five seconds, I caved. "All right, Klein. Let's teach you some basics."

Klein got up, nodding and waiting for me to continue. It didn't take long for me to do what he wanted, and so I found myself saying, "First off, the most important asset to fighting is your initial motion input."

"Initial… motion input?" he repeated, making me sigh.

"That's how you activate «Sword Skills»," I explained.

"Sure, I get that, but it keeps moving around!" Klein said.

"Allow me to take it from here," Kirito said, picking up a pebble from the ground at his feet. He put it behind his head in a throwing position, and it began to glow a bright red. "Like Yamiko was saying, if you start out with the right initial motion input, you can activate a «Sword Skill». And when you do that—"

Kirito launched the pebble, making sure to throw it in a slightly different direction than the «Frenzy Boar» to prove his point. The pebble flew through the air with alarming speed, its trajectory curving mid-throw until it was on a collision course with the boar's posterior. Its HP barely went down as it was hit, but it was enough to get the point across.

"The skill will pretty much guarantee that you hit your target," Kirito finished, giving Klein a smile. "Now, you try!"

Klein nodded, then turned to face the boar once more. "Initial motion input…"

He put his one-handed curved sword above his shoulder, readying a dash-type «Sword Skill» known as «Reaver». His sword started to glow with a bright orange light. Eventually, when it stopped getting brighter, I heard Kirito say, "Now!"

Klein released the skill, and it sent him flying towards the «Frenzy Boar» at an insanely high speed. The sword made contact with the boar's side as he sailed past it, and after a moment, Klein appeared behind it. A few seconds later, the boar exploded into white polygons, and they scattered into the air until they started to shrink, and finally, disappear altogether.

After a second of silence, Klein shouted out, "ALL RIGHT!"

I walked up to Klein, putting my hand in the air. He met it in a high five, giving me a thumbs up with his other hand. I flashed a smile, then said, "Congrats on your first kill, man. But sadly, that boar is about as strong as slimes in other games."

"What?!" Klein shouted in disbelief. "No freaking way! That _had_ to be a mini-boss!"

I stifled a laugh, putting my hand up to my mouth. Kirito just sighed, walking up to us. "Of course not. Look over there." Kirito pointed to a hill about ten meters away, and when we looked, we saw a «Frenzy Boar» spawning, with another already there.

I looked back over at Kirito, locking eyes with him for a moment. Just when he looked as if he was about to say something, I heard the sound of a «Sword Skill» being unleashed. I turned to find Klein using a skill, an immersed look on his face.

As if in sync, both Kirito and I said, "Addictive, isn't it?"

Klein looked at us, then said. "Yeah, definitely!" After a few more seconds, he donned a smirk. "But seriously, are to two really not a c—"

"We're not!" I interrupted him, anger radiating off of me.

_Why does everyone think that about us! Even in the beta, it was always the same!_

"Okay, then…" Klein said, scratching his cheek. "Never bringing up _your_ relationship status again…"

Kirito chose that moment to interrupt our already-dying conversation. "So, why don't we go and hunt some more mobs?"

Klein agreed, and we left the «West Fields» for a better hunting spot.

* * *

«West Edge»

Around five o'clock, the three of us were just sitting on a hill, watching the simulated sunset. I looked at it with awe, as I always did when I saw it. After all, I couldn't see anything in the real world.

_I almost wish that I could _live_ here, in the virtual world._

"No matter how much I look at all of this, I can't believe it's just a game," Klein said wistfully, looking at the sunset with a smile. "The creator is a total genius! Sure makes me glad I was born in this time."

"You make such a big deal out of everything," Kirito said, looking at him with a smug smile.

Before Klein could retort, I interrupted him with, "I, for one, am with Klein on this one. I feel even more alive here than I ever did in the real world. Every time I used the «Full Dive» technology, I was enthralled all over again. With today being the first time in months that I've used it, I feel _ten times_ more amazed at the wonders of SAO than before, even in the beta."

"Wow, you're really into this, huh?" Klein asked me.

I smiled at him. "Well, yeah. After all, in this world, a single blade can take you anywhere you want to go. Or in mine and Kirito's case, two blades."

"Yeah, that's right!" Klein said, looking at the two blades sheathed behind my back. "You guys both use two swords! Isn't that hard to do?"

Kirito stayed silent, seemingly upset about something. I looked at him with a concerned face for a second, then turned to face Klein once more. "Not really. Both Kirito and I are ambidextrous, so the style comes naturally to us," I said, waving my hand dismissively. "Though I'll admit, Kirito is a thousand times better than I am with it."

Klein turned to Kirito with a look of awe, causing the poor teen to rub the back of his head sheepishly.

"Wow, that's amazing!" Klein shouted enthusiastically. "Just out of curiosity, though, how far did all the testers make it before the beta ended?"

Kirito was the one to respond this time. He turned to Klein, saying, "During the two months of testing, the best of us made it to floor eight. But this time…" Kirito clenched his right hand into a fist. "I can guarantee you that it'll only take a month."

"Man, you two are really hardcore gamers, aren't you?" Klein asked us, closing his eyes and smiling.

"To be honest, during the beta test period, SAO was all I could think about, day and night," Kirito said, looking at me for some reason. "Actually, about three weeks in, I decided to look at the player rankings. When I did, I found a certain someone at the top of the list.

"I wanted to meet this person, so I started putting the skills I had from the real world into practice. I leveled constantly, focusing on nothing else, just to try to get the best player to acknowledge me. Of course, when this player confronted me and asked for a duel, I was a little more than shocked.

"And so we dueled. I was easily more skilled than the player, so I beat them within thirty seconds. What really surprised me was when they asked for a rematch. I fought them again, and even though I still won, it was a lot harder.

"After I won, I offered to help train this player. With a bit of convincing, I got them to let me help. Truth be told, that wasn't why I offered to help them. I just wanted to befriend them.

"Eventually, it got to the point where the main reason I logged in to SAO was to see this player again. They were my best friend, both in the virtual world _and_ out. And of course…" Kirito looked at me, giving me a wide smile. "That player is Yamiko."

Klein, who had been listening with awe at Kirito's heartfelt statement, suddenly adopted a mischievous smirk. "Oh, I see what this is…"

_He can't be serious… Kirito must have a lot more friends than just me._

"Anyway, what do you say we go hunt some more?" I said, laughing nervously.

"Hell yeah!" Klein shouted. "But… I'm starving."

I giggled, watching him grab his stomach. Kirito closed his eyes, smirking, then said, "Well, can't help you there. Eating food in this world only makes you think you're not hungry on the other side."

Klein looked at us, giving a goofy smile and a thumbs up. "There's no way I could come this far and just eat leftovers in the fridge! No, I ordered a pizza and two-liter of soda to come at five-thirty PM!"

I giggled once more at Klein's quirky happiness. "You're certainly well-prepared!"

"Totally!" Klein shouted.

_Wait a second… I almost forgot! I have to log out and to meet up with Suguha!_

"I almost forgot," I said, getting up with Klein. "I have to log out, too."

"All right, then," Kirito said, looking down. "Why don't the three of us meet back up later tonight?"

"Well, I'm meeting up with some friends from another game," Klein said. "But if you guys want, I could introduce you. You can friend them, too!"

Kirito looked down, and so did I. Neither of us were used to being in larger parties, since it had been just the two of us for most of the beta. Before that, we were both solo players, so we wouldn't be comfortable in a large party.

Sensing our discomfort, Klein quickly said, "Of course, you don't have to if you don't want to. I'll just introduce you some other time."

"Yeah, sorry," Kirito said softly.

I continued. "Thanks."

"Hey, don't you go thanking me!" Klein said cheerfully. "I should be the one thanking you guys! You're both amazing! I promise I'll repay you both… someday."

He then walked backwards, presumably to log out. "Seriously, though. Thanks so much, guys. I'll see you two around."

I smiled warmly, putting out my hand. "If you ever have any questions, just message one of us. We'll be happy to help you out."

Kirito nodded in agreement, and Klein said took my hand, shaking it. "Will do!"

He let go, then opened up his menu, making the motions to log out. I did the same, but right before I got to the log out menu, I heard Klein say something that made my blood run cold.

"Hey guys, total newb question, but is there another way to log out? The regular button is just blank, and when I touch it, nothing happens."

Sure enough, when I looked at my logout menu, the button was blank.

Kirito looked at him quizzically. "You sure? It should be at the bottom of the main menu."

"No, he's right," I confirmed. "I'm seeing the same thing. I'll contact a GM and see what's up."

"Good idea," Kirito said as he went into his own menu.

"Well, it is the first day out of the beta, so there are bound to be some bugs. Man, the server people must be freaking out right about now!" Klein said smugly.

"You will, too," I said. "It's five twenty-five PM. Wasn't your pizza set to arrive at five-thirty?"

Klein stood in silence for all of three seconds. Of course, this didn't last long, and he immediately transitioned into yelling, "My teriyaki mayo pizza and ginger ale!"

Ignoring Klein's outburst, Kirito turned to me. "Any response from a GM?"

I hadn't heard a word from a GM since I called.

"No…" I stated, a dark look appearing on my face. "Nothing. Nothing at all."

"No big deal, I'll just pull the «Nerve Gear» off!" Klein said, clearly so desperate that he couldn't think straight.

Before he could try, I interrupted. "Don't bother. The «Nerve Gear» intercepts all the signals that your brain sends to your body so that you don't move around while you play."

"Then we have no choice… but to wait for someone to fix the bug?" Klein queried, his voice almost in hysterics.

_I don't think it's a bug… something's wrong here._

"Or for someone in the real world to take it off," Kirito said.

"But I live alone…" Klein said. "What am I going to do?!"

"Calm down, Klein," I said. "Kirito, do you have any family? I'll be alone in my house until about eight."

"Yeah, I've got a mom and a sister," Kirito said, looking down with a bitter expression. "But they don't really care. Still, I guess they'll find me around seven."

Klein ran up to Kirito, putting his hands on the boy's shoulders. "How old is your sister?"

Kirito looked taken aback. He stuttered a bit before regaining his composure. "Dude, she's into kendo, and she hates games. She's nothing like us!"

Klein obviously didn't take the hint. "Who cares— oof!"

Kirito had no intention of letting Klein finish, clearly shown by his fist as it hit the redhead where it counts.

_Into kendo? Hates games? That sounds an awful lot like…_

"Are you two done messing around?" I asked them dryly. "Seriously, don't you find this the least bit weird?"

Klein looked at me quizzically, and Kirito looked at me with an expression that said he had already figured it out. Klein then said, "Well, duh. It's a bug, how could it not be—"

"That's not it," Kirito said, cutting Klein off calmly. "Don't you get it? Even if they fixed the bug, the fact that it happened in the first place will cause serious problems for the game's future. That, and…"

"They could just shut down the servers," I continued for him. "That would log everyone out. But they're not doing that, so there must be something worse than a normal bug going on here…"

Just after I finished talking, we all heard a bell sounding off in the distance. It continued on for a little while, and then, I realized exactly what it meant.

"Wait, that's the bell in the «Plaza» at the «Town of Beginnings»!" I shouted, catching both Klein and Kirito by surprise. "But that only sounds when—"

I was cut off by a blue light surrounding me. When I looked to Klein and Kirito, I found that they, too, were being engulfed by the blue light. _A forced teleport?_ I asked myself, even though I already knew it was the case.

When the blue light subsided, I found myself back in the «Plaza» of the «Town of Beginnings», near the center. I looked around, finding Klein and Kirito standing on either side of me, along with several other players. Even more continued to appear in flashes of blue light, and when it seemed as if every player had arrived…

"Hey, up there!" a player close by shouted, pointing to the sky just in front of the virtual sunset. Where he pointed, a red hexagon flashed in the sky. I squinted to see what it said, and when I saw, my blood ran cold.

«WARNING»

_No way…_

Then, another hexagon appeared on top of the original, this one saying «System Announcement». Then another below the original, then one to the left, then one to the right, until the entire sky was filled with red hexagons, all saying «WARNING» or «System Announcement».

_What the hell is going on?!_

Just as I thought it couldn't get any weirder, red liquid began oozing from in between the hexagons in the sky. When the liquid reached about ten meters from the ground, it stopped falling, piling up onto itself as even more of it seeped through the cracks. Blue electricity began to pulsate around the forming liquid.

"What the hell?" Klein whispered from my right. I looked over to him for only a second, but when I looked back up at the sky…

An illustrious, crimson cloak floated in the air, with no body inside it to speak of. It had white gloves in its sleeves, which looked as if there were invisible hands inside of them.

"Is that a GM?"

"Why doesn't it have a face?"

"What's going on? Is this an event?"

These were but a few of the things I heard all around us. However, they left no impact compared to what was said next.

The robe started to speak in a very deep voice that resounded through the entire area. **"Attention, players… I welcome you… to my world."**

_What?!_

"My… world?" Kirito repeated from his spot next to me.

"**My name is Kayaba Akihiko. As of this moment, I am the sole person with control over this world."**

_Kayaba Akihiko?! But he's… the creator of the game! He never came out and made announcements in the beta! Something's wrong!_

As soon as I finished my thought, the robe continued. **"I assume that most of you have already noticed the missing button from the menu. The logout button."**

As if the illustrate his point, he opened his own menu, even though we couldn't see it. He continued with, **"However, I can assure you this. This is not a defect in the game. I repeat, this is not a defect. The inability to log out…**

"**Is a feature of Sword Art Online."**

"A-a feature?" Klein whispered in shock.

_No… this can't be happening!_

"**You will not be able to log out on your own, and no one on the outside will be able to shut down or remove the «Nerve Gear». Should this be attempted, the transmitter inside the «Nerve Gear» will emit a powerful blast of microwave radiation, destroying your brain…**

"**And ending your life."**

Klein looked over at me with a disbelieving expression. "He can't be serious. There's no way it could—"

"He's right," Kirito said ominously. "The «Nerve Gear's» transmitters work just like a microwave. If the safety were disabled…"

When he stopped, I finished for him. "It could fry your brain. He's not lying, I can tell."

Klein stepped back a little, too shocked to speak. And so, I continued to explain. "And we couldn't cut the power, either. The «Nerve Gear» has an internal battery. It's supposed to last for three days of playtime."

Kirito chose that time to speak up. "But why…?"

"**Unfortunately, the friends and family members of several players have disregarded this warning. They have attempted to remove the «Nerve Gear», and have faced the consequences of their actions."**

_No… he can't mean that—_

"**As a result of their foolish acts, two-hundred and thirteen players have been permanently removed from «Aincrad»… and the real world."**

_No, no, no! This can't be happening!_

"Two-hundred and thirteen players?" Kirito repeated, his avatar's eyes as wide as saucers.

"I don't believe it!" Klein shouted. "There's no way this could be real!"

Several windows opened up around him, displaying various news stations reporting the incident. **"As you can see, news organizations around the world are reporting what has happened here. Thus, you can safely assume that the danger of your «Nerve Gear» being removed is minimal at best. I hope this will console you as you work hard to clear the game."**

_He's insane! He wants us to clear all one-hundred floors?! We'd waste away before that could ever happen!_

"**However, do take note of this,"** the robe said calmly. **"There is no longer any method of respawning in the game. Once your HP reaches zero, your avatar will be permanently deleted. And of course, at the same time…**

"**The «Nerve Gear» will destroy your brain."**

_No… this can't be happening! I must have died a hundred times during the first week of the beta _alone_!_

I looked to Kirito and Klein, both of which looked too shocked to even talk. When I looked back to the robe, it began speaking once more.

"**There is but one thing for you to do, should you wish to be free. You must clear the game.**

"**You are all currently on the first floor, «Aincrad's» lowest level. Make your way through the dungeon and defeat the floor boss, and you will advance to the next level. If you defeat the final boss on the one-hundredth floor, you will clear the game."**

"Clear all one-hundred floors?!" Klein shouted, looking up at the robe with unbridled rage. "That's freaking impossible! Even the beta-testers never made it _near_ that high!"

"**I have removed the pain-absorber,"** it said, causing my blood to run cold. **"So that you will be more aware of when you are hit."**

_That bastard! He wants us to feel real pain in a freaking video game?!_

"**And lastly, there is a gift from me in your item storage. Please feel free to open it."**

Against my better judgment, I found myself following the crowd, going into my menu and looking in my inventory. What I saw made zero sense.

«Hand Mirror»

"Why would he put a mirror in here?" I whispered, tapping the «turn into object» button to make the mirror appear.

As soon as it appeared into my hands, I looked into it, seeing my avatar's reflection. After three seconds of staring, a blue light began to engulf my entire body. I looked over at Klein and Kirito, finding that they, too, had been enveloped in the same blue light.

When the light subsided, I looked into the mirror once more. What I saw scared me to the core.

Waist-length, lustrous hair as white as snow. A curvy figure that most girls would die to have. Heterochromatic eyes; one gray, and one violet.

I was looking at my real body, all one-hundred and fifty-five centimeters of it.

"You… you're…" I heard Kirito say from behind me. I turned around to find a face constantly described to me by Suguha, looking at me in shock. "You're Sugu's blind friend!"

I gave him an enraged glare. "And _you're_ her brother!"

The boy in front of me flinched back, as if expecting me to hit him or something. Of course, it probably didn't help that I looked like I was seriously considering it.

_Ugh… I can't believe I was friends with this Kazuto Kirigaya, the laziest gamer on earth!_

"Calm down, you two…" I heard a voice say from next to us.

Both Kazuto and I looked over at the person next to us. Upon closer inspection, the person had dark red hair, was at least a head taller than me, and had red stubble on his chin. In other words, I had no idea who he was.

In unison, both Kazuto and I said, "Who the hell are you?"

"It's me, Klein!" the redhead shouted, giving us a confused look. He then took the opportunity to look into the «Hand Mirror» he held, gasping when he did. "Wait… I look like the real me! How—"

Kazuto was the first to recover from our little feud, saying, "The «Nerve Gear» has a scanner that could easily detect our facial structure, but…"

When he trailed off, I picked up what he obviously missed. "The «Nerve Gear» made us calibrate it when we first used it, remember? We had to touch our bodies all over."

Klein donned a look of understanding, which quickly changed to panic. "Yeah, I get all that, but still… why would he do all this?!"

Before either I or Kazuto could respond, the robe continued. **"All of you must be wondering why… why would Kayaba Akihiko, creator of «Sword Art Online» and the «Nerve Gear», do all of this? The answer is simple. In fact, I've already achieved my goal.**

"**To create a world of my own and intervene… as its God."**

"Kayaba, you bastard!" Kazuto shouted into the sky.

"**This ends the tutorial for the official launch of «Sword Art Online»,"** the robe said, its image starting to flicker. **"Players…**

"**I wish each and every one of you the best of luck."**

With that, the robe turned into red smoke, floating up through the red hexagons that covered the sky. Then, all of the hexagons disappeared, leaving the virtual sunset visible once more.

Silence.

_This… is all real,_ I thought darkly. _Kayaba Akihiko, the genius who created the «Nerve Gear» and a complete virtual world. I admired him, so I understand perfectly._

I clenched my fists.

_Everything he said… was the truth!_

I looked up at Kazuto and Klein. Klein looked shocked, and Kazuto looked like he was experiencing the same firestorm of emotions as I. I looked back down, gritting my teeth.

_If I die in the game… I die in real life!_

As soon as my thought finished, I heard the sound of a barrier being lifted. In an instant, both Kazuto and I reacted, both whispering one thing.

"_As soon as the crowd freaks, we go."_

It didn't take long for our requirement to be met. The crowd went into hysterics, creating enough chaos for us to slip away with Klein. And we did. Kazuto grabbed his hand, saying, "Come with us."

He dragged Klein to the alleyways that led to the city's edge, with me following close behind. When we finally reached the alleys, we stopped running, Kazuto taking the initiative to speak.

"Listen. Yamiko and I are heading to the next village right now. Come with us."

_Does he seriously expect me to go with him?_ I thought angrily, still very irked at the fact that I had made friends with my worst real-life enemy.

"If what Kayaba said was true, then to survive, we've gotta train as much as we can. The resources within a VRMMO are limited. In other words, there's only so much money and EXP to go around.

"The fields surrounding the «Town of Beginnings» will be hunted clean in a matter of hours. To be efficient, we need to head for the next village and set up camp there ASAP. Yamiko and I know everything about all the areas from our days in the beta test, so even if we're all at level one, we can get you there safely."

Klein looked down, and I instantly knew what he was thinking about. _His friends… he has to help them._

Klein began voicing his concerns. "Guys, I'm sorry… my gaming friends and I spent days in line just to get SAO. I can't abandon them."

He gasped, finally catching on. "They're probably still in the «Plaza», freaking out like everyone else!"

Kazuto looked down, and I already knew exactly what that downward stare of his meant.

_If one of his friends died on us, we would be blamed. He would hate us…_

"I can't ask anything more of you two. You helped me more than enough," Klein said, giving us a smile. "So get your asses to the next village!"

Both Kazuto and I looked at him with wide eyes. Still, he continued, giving us a thumbs-up and saying, "I used to be a guild master in my last game. I'll be able to get by with the stuff you two taught me!"

"I get it…" I said, looking down. "Well, we'll part here. Send one of us a message if something comes up."

"Will do!"

As Kazuto turned towards the alley, everything about him screamed, 'I'm sorry'. "Well… take care. We'll be seeing you, Klein."

I turned to follow, but was interrupted by Klein shouting, "Kirito! Yamiko!"

We both turned to the redhead, our faces slightly surprised. We could both see that he didn't want things to end on such a sad note.

Just before we turned to walk away, he said, "You know, it's really too bad that you aren't a couple. You'd make a really cute one!"

For once in my life, I didn't get angry at someone saying that. Instead, I laughed. After my laughing subsided, I said, "Goodbye, Klein. I'll see you again."

With that, we parted ways.

After a few seconds of running through the alleyways, I said, "Kazuto, stop!"

"What is it?" he asked me.

"I think…" I started, my chest tightening at what I had to say. "I think we need to split up. Leveling in SAO is more efficient that way."

"What?!" he shouted.

"You know it's true," I said sadly. "That, and I need some time to think. I never would have imagined that you're one of the only people in the real world that I didn't like. So… I'm confused. I don't know what to feel."

He looked down, tears brimming in his eyes. "… I see."

"I promise, you, though…" I started, giving a weak smile. "I'll tell you what I feel after the first boss battle, when we beat it with the new clearing party. Okay?"

"Okay," he said, looking up and smiling back. "I'll see you then, Yamiko."

"Right… I'll see you, Kazuto."

With that, I left in a different direction. I left straight for the third town, right next to the quest spot for the «Anneal Blade».

And I ran. I ran through the alleys, the city gates, the fields, not even stopping when I saw a mid-level «Wolf» ahead of me. It was undoubtedly at _least_ two levels higher than me, but I didn't care in the least.

_I've got this!_

I drew both of my swords in a flash, already putting them in the position to activate «Blink Cut», a strong dash-type skill.

_I can do this!_

When my skill finished charging, I released it. I disappeared, reappearing behind the «Wolf» with my blades in an X pattern. I didn't even stop when I heard the mob shatter and leave me a level-up window. No, I just kept on running.

_I will survive!_

"HAAAAAAA!"

* * *

**A/N:**

**Yeah, maybe the "I will survive!" thing is getting a little old, but how else did you expect me to end it?**

**Anyway, this has been sitting on the backburners for at least a month, so I'm sorry if there's a decrease in quality from some of my newer works.**

**Okay, for a status update:**

**The Kendo Club: Playing for Keeps chapter two is about twenty percent done, and I'm still working on it.**

**FATAL ERROR: SYSTEM REBOOT: Final Reset chapter three is about five percent done, and it's in the same boat as the above story.**

**Lost chapter two is about fifty percent done, so that will probably be what gets updated next.**

**Everything else is on the backburner for now. Sorry!**

**Now, with that out of the way, there's only one last thing to say!**

**I don't own the Sword Art Online light novel series or any of its adaptations!**

**Until we meet again!**


	2. Chapter 2: Illfang

Sword Art Online: Fallen Angels

Chapter Two: Illfang

* * *

**Sorry for taking so long, guys and gals! I'm not exactly a speedy updater, since I have like, ten stories I'm working on at the moment, but I promise I'll try to update a bit faster!**

**Also, for those of you who follow me, there's a poll on my profile that will decide the main three stories that I'll be working on for June of 2014. The last winners (FESR and FESRFR) will not be included as choices, since they've already got the spotlight this month. Other than that, there are seven choices, and you can vote for three of them.**

**All right, I guess it's time for the story now! See you at the bottom! **

* * *

_After a few seconds of running through the alleyways, I said, "Kazuto, stop!"_

_"What is it?" he asked me._

_"I think…" I started, my chest tightening at what I had to say. "I think we need to split up. Leveling in SAO is more efficient that way."_

_"What?!" he shouted._

_"You know it's true," I said sadly. "That, and I need some time to think. I never would have imagined that you're one of the only people in the real world that I didn't like. So… I'm confused. I don't know what to feel."_

_He looked down, tears brimming in his eyes. "… I see."_

_"I promise, you, though…" I started, giving a weak smile. "I'll tell you what I feel after the first boss battle, when we beat it with the new clearing party. Okay?"_

_"Okay," he said, looking up and smiling back. "I'll see you then, Yamiko."_

_"Right… I'll see you, Kazuto."_

* * *

It had been a month since the death game known as «Sword Art Online» began, and in that time, two-thousand people died. That's one fifth of the population. All dead within a single month. And even after all that, no one had cleared floor one.

_Was this what you wanted, Kayaba…?_

I hadn't seen or heard from Kazuto since we parted ways. I had no way of knowing whether he was among the living or not. However, I knew I couldn't dwell on such things. We had promised to go up against the boss together with the new clearing party, and if I only sat in an inn, worrying over his safety, I would be breaking it. Thus, I joined with the scouts in search of the boss room about two weeks in.

There, I met a nice boy my age named Diabel. He led the scouts in their explorations, but I could easily tell that he was leading them in circles once I actually tagged along for the first time. So I pulled him aside to talk to him.

I learned that he was a beta-tester, just like Kazuto and I. He didn't want to leave the other players and go solo like the majority of the testers did, so he formed a small group of scouts to search the boss dungeon. He told me that the reason he was leading them in circles was to help them level by fighting the mobs in the dungeon, something they never would have done on their own.

When I told him of my own status as a beta-tester, he looked incredibly relieved. He asked me not to tell anyone about our status, and I agreed. Soon after, we became great friends.

_Not as great as Kirito was, though._

Eventually, Diabel and I decided to stop leading the scouts in circles, feeling that they had leveled enough for the boss fight that would take place after we found the room. During the next search, we found the boss room easily, having memorized its location in the beta. Everyone in the scout group looked overjoyed to finally have found it, and so we decided to teleport to «Tolbana» and go to a fancy diner to celebrate.

Now, three days later, Diabel is hosting a meeting on how to beat the first floor boss.

"Diabel," I addressed the blue-haired boy before me, giving him a sad smile. "I have to look for someone who will be attending the meeting, so I won't be able to host it with you… I'm sorry."

He looked at me with the charismatic smile he was known for, giving me a thumbs-up. "Don't worry about it! When you find Kirito, tell him he's lucky for me, okay?"

I pouted, my cheeks dusted with an embarrassing light pink. "It's not like that!"

As I walked away, listening to him laugh in triumph, I realized something… off.

_How in the hell did he know it was Kazuto?!_

When I reached the meeting spot, I noticed Kazuto leaning on a tree in the middle, alone. I walked up to him, noting that his eyes were closed. It almost seemed like he was sleeping.

_But I'm not that stupid._

I put my right hand up to his forehead, flicking it gently with my index finger. His eyes shot open, revealing two angry, steel-gray eyes. When he registered that I was right in front of him, his face went pale.

"Y-Yamiko!" he said, though it sounded more like a question. His eyes were as wide as dinner plates. He looked… scared.

"What's wrong?" I asked him, looking at him with a concerned face. "Why do you look so scared?"

He looked at me with a sad smile. "It's just… I thought you hated me. I mean, you did in the real world… and you said—"

Before he could continue, I put my finger to his lips. "I didn't say that I hated you here. I told you, I didn't know what I felt. But I'm sure of it now. I promise, I'll tell you after the boss fight. Okay?"

He smiled a genuine smile, giving me a thumbs-up. "All right. I'll be waiting."

"Hey, Yamiko!" one of my new friends from the scouting party shouted at us from my left. "Let's go! The meeting's about to start!"

With that, we began to walk towards where the meeting would take place.

* * *

Once we arrived at our destination, I looked around at the scenery. The place we had all arrived at looked like an ancient amphitheater built on a hill, with several rows of curved stone benches arranged in a semicircle around a smaller semicircular stage-like platform at the bottom.

Soon enough, my blue-haired friend, Diabel, walked up onto the stage. He clapped his hands a few times, then said, "Okay, it looks like everyone's here! Let's get this meeting started!

"So anyway, I want to thank everyone here for coming. It's nice to see so many people interested in helping clear the game! My name is Diabel. And in this game…

"The job I rolled is knight!"

The crowd burst into laughter, falling prey to Diabel's plan.

_He wants to lighten the tension. He's pretty brilliant when it comes to manipulating the crowd._

Once the crowd had calmed down, he got straight down to business. "All right, guys. Here's the deal. Three days ago, my party found the boss room at the top of the dungeon."

All of the players save for a few gasped in shock, looking at Diabel with wide eyes. Still, he continued on, acting as if he didn't even see the shocked and scared glances he was getting.

"First, we need to beat the boss and make it to floor two. The next step is for us to come back and tell everyone waiting in the «Town of Beginnings» that it _is_ possible to beat this game!

"As the most capable players, it is our _duty_! Are you with me? Or not?" he finished, leaving his question hanging.

All was silent for five seconds. Then, one of the players started clapping. Then another, and another, until almost all of us were clapping and cheering. I looked over at Kazuto, watching him smile softly at the spirit of the players.

"Amazing, isn't it?" I whispered, watching as Kazuto looked to me in confusion. "Diabel is a great motivator."

His eyes showed the faintest hint of sadness as he said, "Do you know him?"

I smiled smugly, saying, "Yeah. I was a part of his scouting party, and we're pretty good friends. You jealous?"

He did a double take, stuttering out an incomprehensible mess before finally regaining his composure. "No way!"

My smile faltered slightly, showing my disappointment at his words for the faintest of moments. I quickly regained my smug façade before saying, "Aw, that's too bad. I was hoping I could have something to tease you about."

"Pfft, whatever."

He turned back to Diabel, and I followed suit just in time to hear him start speaking again.

"Okay! Glad to hear that everyone's with me. Now, let's get down to strategy. First off, we'll divide into parties of six!"

Everyone started looking around to the people next to them, and I could already see people opening their menus. I looked around, trying to find any people who were being left out. Soon enough, as Diabel was explaining the importance of forming a raid group, I saw a lone person in a cloak about five meters to the left of Kazuto.

I got up, walking over to the player. Kirito followed suit, and a few seconds later, we reached them.

"So, I'm guessing that you're a solo player who doesn't want to intrude on the other players as they form parties, right?" I asked the player.

"Y-yeah," the cloaked player responded in a feminine voice.

_So she's a girl…_

"Well, why don't you party with us?" I offered, pointing to me and Kazuto. "We don't mind. Besides, Diabel said that we wouldn't stand a chance against a floor boss alone."

She looked at us through her hood, taking a moment before responding with, "Okay."

No sooner had both she and Kazuto accepted the party invites I sent than did Diabel resume talking. "All right, it looks like everyone's teamed up! Now, let's—"

"Hold on a sec!"

All eyes turned to the top of the amphitheater, where a man with orange cactus-like hair stood with his arms crossed. His expression showed his anger very well, and I could already guess as to why he was so wound up.

_I sense trouble coming…_

He jumped down the seats with a series of unnecessary grunts until he was on the platform with Diabel, then turned around to face the crowd. He began speaking in an annoying voice, starting to rant right away.

"My name's Kibaou, got it? Before we take on the boss, I just want to get something off my chest," he said, earning the curiosity of most of the players. "We all know about the two-thousand people who've died already, right? Well, some of you need to apologize to them right now!"

_As I thought._

Diabel looked to him, not a trace of nervousness on his features. "Kibaou, I don't suppose you're referring to the beta-testers, are you?"

"No shit, Sherlock!" Kibaou shouted, causing me to grit my teeth in anger. "The day this damned game started, the beta-testers just up and vanished, right? They ditched everyone else! They snagged all the best hunting spots and easy quests for themselves! They were the only ones getting stronger! All this time, they've ignored us like we're the dirt they walk on!

"I'm damn sure there's some of them here! Come on out, beta-testers! You need to apologize! And you need to give up the money and the items you hoarded! You can't expect the party to trust you when you trust us! Why should we?"

I looked to Kazuto beside me, rage boiling when I saw his conflicted look.

_That's enough!_

I stood up slowly, faking smugness. "You know, people who accuse others of being guilty are often guilty themselves. How are we to know that you're not a beta-tester yourself who's only looking to take the other testers' stuff?"

Kibaou glared at me with the force of a thousand suns. "What'd you just say?!"

I ignored him, intent on finishing the hate put on the beta-testers off for good. "And besides, not all the beta-testers are bad guys. If there _are_ beta-testers here, that means that they want to help clear the game for everyone, right? That doesn't sound selfish to me. Oh, and one more thing."

"W-what's that?" Kibaou said, his resolve to hate fading.

I pulled out a little item that I had been keeping for an occasion such as this, holding it up for him to see. "You see this? This is a guidebook. They're handed out for free at all the item stores. I assume you got one."

He stared at me, his anger replaced with confusion. "Yeah. What of it?"

"Every addition thus far was made from info given by the beta-testers. You know what that means, right? The testers had to _pay_ for each edition to be freely distributed in all the stores. Publication of books in SAO isn't cheap, either. The testers paid out of their own pockets just to help out all the newbie players."

I looked around at the other players before continuing. "Listen up, people. Everyone had equal access to this info, and all of it is vital for surviving in this world. Even so, lots of players died. The beta-testers did everything they could. I, for one, didn't come here to point fingers at anyone. I came to help clear this damn game and get everyone back home! Who's with me?"

Silence.

Then, a few moments later, I heard clapping coming from a couple seats below me. Then another joined in, and then another, and another, until everyone was clapping for me. I looked to Diabel, smiling when I saw him give me a grateful expression.

Once the clapping died down, I looked at Kibaou once more. "So, Kibaou, do you have anything else to say?"

All he did was give me an indignant glare, walking back to the stands and sitting down. I followed suit, waiting for Diabel to continue.

"Okay, is everyone ready to get back to the meeting?" Diabel asked the crowd, receiving nods in return. He then got another guidebook out of his pocket, saying, "Okay, good. For info on the boss, it's all here in the latest edition of the guide book you just heard about."

He opened the guidebook, turning to a page he had most probably bookmarked. Then, he began reading at a pace that told me he had memorized the contents beforehand. "According to the book, the boss's name is «Illfang the Kobold Lord». Looks like he'll also be surrounded by three minions at any given time, called the «Ruin Kobold Sentinels».

"Illfang carries an axe and a buckler. He has four HP bars, and when the last one enters the red, he ditches his current weapons for a curved sword-type weapon called a «Tulwar». His attack patterns change to match his new weapon."

At this newest piece of information, the crowd of future clearers started to mumble amongst themselves. Before any uncertainty could arise, Diabel closed the guidebook and resumed speaking. "Well, that's it for the briefing. As for the distribution of loot, money will be divided equally among everyone. The EXP goes to the party that defeats the boss, and whoever gets an item gets to keep it. Any objections?"

When no one said anything against him, Diabel concluded the meeting with, "Good! We meet here and leave at ten in the morning! Meeting adjourned!"

As people left, I noticed that Kazuto and the cloaked girl were still next to me. I turned to both of them, giving a goofy smile. "Hey, what do you say the three of us meet up tonight for dinner? My treat!"

* * *

Later that night, the three of us met up at a diner. After we finished our orders, we began engaging in idle conversation. Well, more like Kazuto and I talked to each other while the other girl listened.

"So, how did you fare in the past month?" I asked Kazuto, staring at him curiously. "I'm sure you were as battle-crazed as ever, so you were probably leveling the entire time."

"Yeah, that just about sums it up," he responded. "Oh, and I met Coper at the end of the first day."

I looked up at the ceiling, smiling in reminiscence. "Oh? How's he doing?"

_I remember… he stuck with us from floors two through four. He was a good guy._

"The death aspect of the game changed him. He tried to kill me for the quest item to get the «Anneal Blade». He almost died himself, but I saved him. I haven't heard from him since," Kazuto said, looking down sadly.

"Wow… and he was such a nice guy before…" I whispered, my face falling.

"Excuse me…"

Both of us turned our gazes to the girl sitting with us.

"What's up?" I asked her curiously, though I was sweating bullets on the inside.

_Did she figure it out?_

"Are you two from the beta?" she asked quietly yet bluntly. She didn't sound mad, but I still wasn't sure.

"What would you do if we are?" Kazuto queried, looking at her intently.

"Nothing," she replied. "You're both still trapped here, just like everyone else. You're both human, just like everyone else. And even though a lot of people hate you, you help them silently and thanklessly."

I stared at the cloaked girl before me, in complete awe of her lack of prejudice. I gaped at her for a good seven seconds before remembering that I needed to respond. "So… you're not mad? You don't hate us?"

"Should I have a reason to?" she asked.

_This girl is a saint!_

"No… I guess not," I said, giving her a smile.

* * *

The next morning, as we walked through the forest that led to the boss dungeon, I listened to Kazuto as he told the girl what our job was once more.

"Okay, let's go over it one last time," he said. "Our job is to take care of the boss's minions. I'll knock their pole axes up with a skill, and then you switch and go in for the kill. Yamiko is really strong, so she'll be taking care of minions on her own."

"What's a switch?"

Both Kazuto and I looked at the girl incredulously, but he was the first to speak. "Have you ever been in a party before?"

"No."

Both Kazuto and I slouched over, knowing that we had a lot to teach this girl on the long walk to the tower.

After walking up what seemed like an endless amount of stairs and floors, everyone finally found themselves staring down a large set of double doors. I looked around, trying to find the slightest hint of fear on any of the players' faces.

I found none.

Instead, I saw copious amounts of determination, which made me smile for the faintest of moments. My smile quickly dissipated, however, when Diabel walked to the front of the crowd and turned around, beginning to speak.

"All right, everyone! I've only got one thing to say to you," he said, sporting his charismatic smile. "Let's win!"

He turned around, putting his hands on the doors. They began to open slowly, revealing a large, dimly-lit room with over forty pillars lining the walls. We all walked in cautiously, waiting for the boss to appear.

With the sound of a light being turned on, the entire room lit up in a rainbow of colors, blinding me for a moment. The walls of the room looked like stained glass, only much, much brighter.

In the blink of an eye, a giant red beast appeared in the air, falling towards us with a roar of fury. The ground shook when it made contact, catching us all off balance for the faintest of moments before we regained our footing.

The red beast before us had a blue diamond pattern on its massive belly. Its clothes were akin to that of a sumo wrestler, along with leg armor and a helmet to cover its disproportionately small head. In its right hand rested a one-handed axe, a buckler shield in its left. Four health bars appeared next to its head, filling up one by one until the top bar was full and blue. Above its head, a name appeared.

«Illfang the Kobold Lord»

Then, three thin, humanoid beasts covered in armor spawned, giant two-handed pole axes resting it their grips. One health bar appeared next to each of their heads, filling up just like Illfang's did. Their names appeared over their heads, announcing that they were the minions… the «Ruin Kobold Sentinels».

_They don't look so tough._

The boss and his minions began their charge. I looked around, finding that the players still held the same look of determination on their faces. I smiled, turning back to my charging opponents. Then, I a shout from Diabel pierced my thoughts.

"COMMENCE ATTACK!"

That was all it took to send the players running at the boss and his minions, meeting them in the middle and clashing in showers of sparks.

* * *

"Squads A and C! Switch in!"

Said squads closed in on the boss, giving the current attackers time to rest and heal as they withdrew.

"Here it comes!" Diabel shouted. "Squad B! Block!"

Squad B used many skills at once to deflect the axe strike made by Illfang, knocking it back several meters.

"Squad C, keep guarding and prepare to switch out!" Diabel commanded, pointing his sword at said squad. "Everyone else, fall back, regroup and flank the boss!"

He looked over at my party, then proceeded to shout separate orders at us. "Squads D, E and F, keep those minions off us!"

In unison, Kazuto and I shouted, "You got it!"

I watched for a few seconds as Kazuto hit one of the sentinels' pole axes up, with the girl coming from behind and decimating the minion with a skill just milliseconds after he shouted, "Switch!"

_Damn, this girl is good! A lot better than I thought she'd be!_

My attention was then drawn to a newly-spawned sentinel, who had just jumped into the air behind Kazuto for a strike. I rushed in with blinding speed, activating the dash-type skill, «Double Circular», midway.

As soon as the skill finished, the sentinel exploded into hundreds of polygons, returning to the «Cardinal System» from whence it came. An instant later, another sentinel spawned a few meters away.

"Thanks!" Kazuto shouted as he turned around to face me.

"No problem!" I shouted, running over to the newly-spawned minion immediately after.

I stabbed it with my right sword, then came down in an overhead strike with my left. I dragged both swords down, then came up in a double-uppercut that shattered the sentinel into hundreds of polygons. No matter how broken «Dual-Wielding» skills may be, I still preferred to use my own body to do the fighting as opposed to letting the system assist take control.

Another minion spawned right behind me, but I heard the sound, and thus, was not afraid. I spun around and hit it in the abdomen with two leftward strikes, then reversed my direction and hit it once with my right sword before stabbing it with my left.

It shattered just like the two before it, but this time, none spawned in its place.

_But that means—_

I looked over at the boss, and when I looked at its health bars, I froze. The last bar had just entered the red.

Illfang threw his axe and buckler into the air, and they landed on the ground several meters away with two loud _clangs_.

"Looks like the guide book was right," Kibaou said, his voice sounding sickeningly cocky.

_Don't get too confident, Kibaou. Just because it's in the Red doesn't mean it's any less deadly,_ I thought, turning back to watch the boss. However, my attention was quickly drawn to another point of interest as I heard someone shout something incredibly stupid.

"Stand back! I've got this! He's mine!"

I heard the sound of someone rushing through the now-still crowd of players, and when I turned to look, I found Diabel running towards the boss.

_What the hell? The plan was for everyone to surround the boss and attack! Why would he be going it alone? Wait, I get it! He's after the «Last Attack Bonus»!_

I watched as Diabel charged up a mid-level skill, already doing the calculations in my head. Milliseconds later, I deduced that the skill wouldn't do _nearly_ enough damage to kill Illfang. I looked over to the boss, watching as it drew a long, straight katana-like sword out from a sling on its back.

_Crap! That's not a «Tulwar»! It's a «Nodachi»! What do I do?!_

"Yamiko!"

It was the shout of Kazuto that brought me back to my senses. Just as Illfang jumped into the air, I began running as fast as I could over to Diabel. While I ran, the boss started jumping from pillar to pillar, putting its «Nodachi» in the position to unleash a deadly two-hit combo on Diabel as soon as it came back down.

Time seemed to slow down as my senses rose to new levels, allowing me to see every minute detail of the boss's and Diabel's movements. I deduced that in three more ricochets, Illfang would come down on Diabel, activating a skill that would surely end his life.

"No way in hell!"

A mere fraction of a second before Illfang finished the final ricochet and pounced on Diabel, I appeared in between them, shoving my blue-haired friend aside. I moved my swords up just in time to block the skill, though the force of Illfang's ferocious attack pushed me down onto my knees. As I desperately held the boss's «Nodachi» above my head with my swords, I eyed my health bar.

_I have about three fourths left, but it's still dropping!_

Then, all of the sudden, Illfang flew to my right, its «Nodachi» going with it. I looked to my left with several exhausted pants, finding Kazuto and the girl, Asuna, all of their weapons still glowing from the aftereffects of «Sword Skills».

"Thanks… you two…" I panted, my vision growing hazy.

Kazuto walked up to me, handing me a potion. "Here, drink up."

I obliged, drinking the potion like my life depended on it. After I finished, I said, "I'm still a little tired. You two start cleaning up, and I'll join you in a bit."

"Got it!" Kazuto said, turning to Asuna. "Let's go!"

As I watched Kazuto and Asuna attack the boss relentlessly, I couldn't help but notice the incredible teamwork they displayed.

_Wow… they're almost as good as we were in the beta!_

Then, I saw Illfang slash the air, creating a gust of wind that sent both of them flying back and destroying Asuna's cloak. I couldn't see her very well, but I could easily tell…

_She's… beautiful… a lot more than I am…_

Then my attention snapped back to the boss, whom had decided to target Kazuto, making my eyes widen in horror as he struggled to get up in time.

Time seemed to slow down once more, just like when I saved Diabel just minutes prior. I got up and charged at Illfang, activating «Double Circular» once I got within reach. Just before the boss hit Kazuto with a heavy-hitter skill, my blades hit its «Nodachi» one after the other, redirecting the skill to the ground right next to us.

"I'm returning the favor!" I shouted. "Now, let's finish this thing for good!"

Kazuto got up, and we charged the boss, who had backed up to activate a dash-type skill at us. Just as its skill activated, we both moved out of the way, causing it to go sailing past us. Then, we simultaneously activated «Double Circular», hitting the boss from behind.

It turned around just in time to come face-to-face with two perfectly-in-sync «Cleaves», followed by two double-thrusts. It jumped back, but we charged at it just as fast, hitting it over and over again with the same skills as the same time. We were perfectly in sync, just like in the beta.

"HAAA!"

We both screamed simultaneously, preparing to hit it with one last attack.

«Agonizing Reversal»

Four blades cut downwards into its flesh, then reversed into upward strikes, the skills' reach extending all the way up and through the boss's body. The skill dragged our bodies into a backflip, and when we landed, we both unleashed the final hit of our combo: a deadly diagonal spinning attack with extended reach.

The boss flew into the air, glowing a bright blue color, until—

«Illfang the Kobold Lord» shattered into innumerable polygons, leaving the world of «Sword Art Online» forever and allowing passage beyond his throne.

Both Kazuto and I fell to the ground, utterly exhausted. We looked over to the rest of the players, all of whom were shocked into silence. Then, a sign appeared in the air above us all.

_CONGRATULATIONS!_

Just like that, the room erupted into cheers. Everyone looked at the windows that appeared before them, showing the money they earned, which only made them even more joyous.

Then, a window appeared before me. It read:

* * *

_Congratulations!_

_You got the Last Attack Bonus!_

_Bonus item: «Coat of Midnight»_

* * *

I looked over to Kirito, who appeared to be in a similar state of shock as he looked in down at what I assumed was a window for him. Players can't see other players' menus, after all.

"Hey… Yamiko?" Kazuto said between pants.

"… Yeah?" my breathing was no better.

"Did you get the window for the LA bonus?" he asked me.

"Yeah," I replied. "But our finishing blows hit at the same time, so did you get it too?"

"Yeah."

"What's your bonus?" I asked him.

"The «Coat of Midnight»."

I smiled broadly. "It looks like we have matching coats now."

He looked into my eyes, trying to find any trace of annoyance.

_Don't tell me he still thinks I don't like him,_ I thought sadly, trying to reassure him with my eyes. _I'll have to tell him the truth once we get to floor two._

I heard two pairs of feet coming towards us over the cheering of the players. When I turned around, I found Diabel and Asuna, walking up to us with smiles on their faces.

"You guys were in perfect sync," Asuna said, looking from me to Kazuto.

"It's almost enough to make me jealous, Kirito," Diabel joked, laughing at our flustered reactions.

"Yeah, whatever," Kazuto said, turning around to hide his red face.

"But seriously, that was amazing!" Diabel shouted. "Today's victory was all thanks to you two!"

"No," Kazuto said. "It was a team effort. We all pitched in."

At this, the players all cheered once more.

* * *

Three hours later, after most of the clearers had moved back to floor one to tell everyone the news, Kazuto and I stayed behind. I told him that I would say what I felt after we reached the second floor, and I planned to make good on my word.

So there we were, sitting across from each other at a middle-class diner, looking out the window at the crowds of people exploring floor two for the first time.

"So… Yamiko?" Kazuto said, catching my attention.

"What's up?"

"You said you would tell me…"

I looked at him with a smug smile. "Getting impatient, are we?"

"I'm _ever so sorry_ for not wanting to wait for the rest of the night to get my answer," he teased me, earning a laugh.

_Just like old times._

"Well, I suppose I've made you wait long enough," I said. "Although I'm not entirely sure how much, I know that I like you a lot. You're still an amazing friend. Dare I say it… you might even be better than you were in the beta."

He looked at me with a hopeful expression, though he knew I wasn't done.

"But that doesn't change the fact that you were an ass to me in real life," I told him, watching as his hopeful expression faded, turning to one of fear. "And I can't just ignore that. So… for now, I consider you my best friend."

"Wha…?"

His expression changed once more, turning into one of disbelief. I smirked, saying, "What, were you hoping for something more?"

His incomprehensible, stuttered-out reply told me all I needed to know.

* * *

**Original word count without author's notes: 5317**

**Word count with author's notes: 5541**

**Word count with FFnet word bloat: 5732**

**Well, this was fun!**

**Well, I guess I should apologize once again to my followers for taking so long to get this out. Then again, I've taken much longer with other updates, so…**

**Well, I wonder how things will play out after this? It's **_**really**_** bad when the **_**author **_**doesn't know where to take it. Oh well, I'll figure something out.**

**Well, I guess it's time for the disclaimer!**

**I don't own the Sword Art Online light novel series or any of its adaptations!**

**Until we meet again!**


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